A CATHOLIC VIEW ON THE END TIMES (CATHOLIC ESCHATOLOGY):

Welcome to this page on Catholic Eschatology which includes: The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven (Purgatory), Hell; the Second Coming of Christ, The Resurrection of the Dead, The General or Final Judgment and the New Creation.

Section 282 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church assures us that knowing what happens at the end of human history is “decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.” Our view of end times determines our view of salvation history. Knowing what happens at the end of our lives and the end of human history is of supreme importance for understanding why God made us and what He has planned for us both in this life and in the next.

Unfortunately, many people and groups are promoting serious errors about the last things and many Catholics are vulnerable in this area because they do not know the Church’s teaching on the end times. On this page you will find the basic teachings of the Catholic Church on the end times and some of the more common errors are dealt with.

A correct understanding of the last things helps us live this life with a greater appreciation of how much God loves us and how great a gift we have in being made in his image. Unlike some pagan religions that believe that human history repeats itself endlessly with no ultimate purpose, we Christians believe that human history in this world is moving toward a climactic finale. This end will fully reveal the meaning of human history.

​There are many different types of media on this page that will assist you in learning about Catholic Eschatology - the study of the End Times or Final Things. Knowing the truth about these topics matters. It affects the way you live your lives and your ultimate destiny. I recommend that you pray before you begin to study. Feel free to use the following prayer:

Heavenly Father,I thank you for this opportunity to study your teachings about the end times and our ultimate end & our ultimate destiny. I pray, Father, that you would pour out the grace of the Holy Spirit upon me right now to open my mind and our heart to the Sacred Scriptures and to the Sacred Tradition of your Church with regard to our personal end time and the end of all time. I pray that you would give me the grace to remember any particular truths that I learn that you desire to work as a seed planted in my heart. I pray, Father, that you would continue to nurture these seeds of truth in order that they may grow and produce abundant fruit in my life. I pray that all of this will come to pass through the power and the name of Jesus Christ your son, our Lord and Savior.

Our Lady, mother of the Truth, mother of the Church, mother of us all, I entrust this time to you as I pray Hail Mary….Amen

Fr. Mike Schmitz is one of the leading Catholic speakers in the Church today. Fr. Mike tackles four very difficult topics in this exceptional presentation: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. Listen to this talk and finally get the answers to the question: "What Happens When I Die?"

Following the main presentation is a bonus from the talk Purgatory: Holy Fire by Dr. Scott Hahn. This bonus is part of the 6-CD set by Dr. Hahn titled Answering Common Objections.​​​

The Four Last ThingsFr. Wade Menezes​Death, judgment, heaven, and hell await. None of us can avoid the reality of our own end in this life and our final destination in the next.Questions Covered:

For centuries, humanity has been fascinated by the second coming of Christ and the “End Times.” Much has been written and said concerning what lies ahead for the future for humanity. Speculation has been rife about the timing of the end of the world and the identity of such figures as the Beast, the Whore, and the Antichrist. Unfortunately, most speculation has proven to be wrong or colored by anti-Catholic prejudice.​In this presentation, Robert Haddad provides a sober analysis on the End Times, future Tribulation, the identity of the Beast, the Whore, the Antichrist, the nature of the Rapture, the Second Coming, the General Judgement, and the Resurrection. He aims to provide general principles without delving into excessive speculation. He also touches on the important themes of death, judgement, heaven, and hell. This is a very useful guide for those interested in the Catholic teaching on the End Times and the “Last Four Things.”

ABOUT THE PRESENTERRobert Haddad is married and has four children. He has a Masters in Theology, Philosophy, and Education. His published works include the Lord of History series (2002), the Christ the Teacher series (2004), and St. Justin: The Case for Christianity (2009). He has also contributed to the Journal for Pastoral Theology (2008). He taught at St. Charbel’s College (7–12) for 15 years, the Centre for Thomistic Studies for 12 years, and has tutored in Theology at UNDA since 2007.

​The son of a Protestant minister, Matthew Leonard is now an internationally known Catholic speaker, author, and the Executive Director of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Our Beautiful End: Exploring the Timeless Mystery of Heaven – It doesn’t do any good to tell people they must die to themselves to be good Catholics if we don’t also tell them what they’re dying for, namely, a heaven that is beyond our wildest imaginations. True, Scripture tells us straight up that we can’t know, or even imagine the depth of the joy and pleasure of eternity spent with God. That being said, divine revelation and human experience do provide us with some clues that can help motivate us to achieve the Beatific Vision. In this talk Matthew will discuss the nature and role of beauty in this life, particularly how it sheds light on the nature of God and assists us in achieving our glorious, beautiful end.Listen to the mp3 of this talk below

The End Game: Death, Judgment, Purgatory, Hell, the End of the World and Practical Strategies to Get Your Kids and Yourself to Heaven

Have you ever thought about what supplies you need? Join us for this 10-week series to gain the skills to become a Catholic "prepper" and stock the spiritual shelves of your soul for your end game!

Learn about death, your particular judgment, purgatory and hell.

Understand what events will unfold before the end of the world, the second coming of Christ, the Last Judgement and the significance of the time in which we live.

Be equipped with faith, hope, love and practical strategies for you and your kids to reach heaven.

This offering was adapted from a 10-week live instruction course, as a result selected topics will be available for download.

Teachers on these audios are Dr. Mike Scherschligt​ & Dr. Troy Hinkle from Holy Family School of FaithHoly Family School of Faith Institute was established in 2005 by Archbishop Naumann, we provide doctrinal and spiritual formation for Catholics through catechetical programs that stress the call to prayer, virtue, and holiness of life, with a particular emphasis on mentoring those who have the responsibility to teach the faith to others, with the goal of renewing the culture of our Catholic schools and individuals.

In addition to the focus on formation of the faithful, it has become increasingly clear that the pathway to become a Missionary Disciple is fully integrated into our catechetical programs.

In a previous column, you wrote that God doesn’t “send” people to hell, but that we choose to live without God. I think that, when we die, God reveals Himself so fully and truly that we are so overwhelmed by his goodness that no one could possibly choose hell.First, God loves each and every human being. He wants all men and all women to be saved. Therefore, in some mysterious way, God gives everyone the grace they need to seek and to find him. We cannot choose God on our own; he first chooses us and gives us the grace we need to be saved. And yet, we must respond to this free gift of grace.

God has chosen us; we must choose him. This choice can even happen at the last possible moment. Even when it seems like a person has chosen hell (to all outward appearances), there is a very deep drama happening between God and each person of which we are unaware. But what if God loves us so much that, at the moment of death, he steps in and makes a last ditch effort to save a person by finally revealing himself completely?

And seeing the incredible beauty of God, the soul wouldn’t be able to choose anything else. That kind of makes sense. Who could refuse to be attracted to pure goodness? This is a pretty attractive idea, but it is very dangerous. In the end, this nice idea leads us into three not nice but awful and devastating ideas, until we arrive at the fourth (and most diabolical) idea: that God is the ultimate horror and perversion of the universe.

First, if it is true that God saves all people in the end, no matter what they choose throughout their lives, then life is meaningless. None of it matters. All the decisions you’ve made throughout your life that went into making you as a person? Irrelevant. If this most important of choices is overruled by God in the end, what happens to the less important ones? Your entire life is obliterated. And in the process, so are you.

You were here for no good reason. Ultimately, none of your choices make the least little difference. And that leads us to the second awful idea. If, in the end, God (out of “love” of course) picks us up by the scruff of our necks, and gently says to us: “Oh no, you don’t want to be over there away from me. I am God, and I know what is best for you. You can’t be left to decide for yourself. I’ll make you obey me by showing you my beauty,” we are not free to choose something or someone other than God. Whether he does that through servile fear or through overpowering beauty does not matter. It leads to the same thing: Our freedom is an illusion because, in the end, we don’t get to choose. And if freedom is an illusion, then this entire world is an illusion. That’s the third awful idea.

Because if we are all walking around under the impression that we are real and our choices are real, and they aren’t, then none of this is real. It is like a dream. In dreams, nothing we do matters. In dreams, we are seldom free to make our own choices. Even more than that, not only would this life be a dream, it would be a nightmare. Because no matter how much you or I have been blessed, we all suffer. This is everyone’s experience, and if life is a dream, it is not a good dream, it is a horror movie. And that leads us to the fourth idea. Who put us into this horror movie? Who makes us stay here? None other than the “so-called” all-good and all loving God. For centuries, people have asked how God could be all-good and all-loving and still allow us to hurt each other like we do.

Why wouldn’t he step in and stop us from doing the evil things we do? The short answer is that God has made us free. He has made us like himself: with the ability to love. And if we truly have the choice to love, we must have the choice to not love, to hate, to use others. And God respects this choice because he does not want slaves; he wants sons and daughters who love him. But why would God making himself irresistibly beautiful at the end of our lives mean that God is a monster? Let’s look at an extreme example. What if, at the end of their lives, God showed himself to Hitler or Stalin and they could not say no to him?

Well, if God was planning on overruling their free will at the end of their lives, why didn’t he do it before those men caused such unutterable suffering and death? The only explanation is that he doesn’t care about the suffering and death of people. He just wants shells of people in the end. He doesn’t care about us now. He is evil. And that’s what we get if we say that, in the end, God shows himself so good that we cannot help but choose him. In an effort to tame God and make him “nice,” we will have made him into the most dreadful, evil and hideous being in existence. Hell does not make God a monster. It is the only thing that prevents our thinking he is a monster. Our lives are not meaningless. We are free.

This life is no dream. Our sins make a difference, just as our acts of love make a difference. God respects the power of our free choice. Remember, if we repent and confess our sins, they are taken away. But that is not the same thing as saying they don’t matter. They matter so much that the cost for each and every one of them is the death of God. That’s the true love of God.

This section is written and recorded by Sonja Corbitt, a Catholic Bible Study leader. She is using the Old Testament Tabernacle as a blue print for the Catholic Faith. In this episode she explains the Altar Fire and its connection with the Catholic understanding of Purgatory.

It is a great explanation! First read the introduction below and then follow the L.O.V.E. the Word section below to listen to the audio presentation by Sonja.

INTRODUCTION

​​"The fire that fell from God’s presence onto the Old Testament altar is the same fire spoken of in the NT as the fire of purgatory which purifies, or sanctifies, us now on earth or after death (in the absence of mortal sin). Popes Gregory and Benedict XVI, along with such mystic Saints as Catherine of Genoa, Faustina, and John Paul II, have said the all-consuming fire of God’s presence, the fire of purgatory, and the fire of hell are the same fire: Trials on earth are bitter fire for the sinner, even as they purify the person of God.​Life’s “fiery trials,” then, are the all-consuming, jealous fire of God probing and purifying us deliberately, deeply, and intimately, just as the altar fire once idd in the OT sacrifices. If we offer them to God willingly in Communion with Jesus’ Cross, they contribute to our salvation to the degree that we can be wholly holy at death. When our trials are viewed this way, they become our sacred offerings of love, offered in participation in Jesus’ Cross. They “save” us."

​O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)

F | Franciscan – Cradle a crucifix in your hand; touch His five wounds; pray a thanksgiving prayer on each one.

I | Ignatian – Imagine you are offering an animal sacrifice at the tabernacle. What can you see around you as you lead your goat to the priest at the altar? As you lay your hand on its head and confess your sins over it, what else can you hear? What do you smell? How do you feel just before you cut its throat with your knife and bleed its blood into the pan? What are your thoughts as the priest pours the blood out around the base of the altar?

A | Augustinian – How does this week’s show make you understand and appreciate the Eucharist more? How is Jesus’ gift of His Body and Blood meant to help you be more broken and spilled out for others?

T | Thomistic – Make a list of anything new you learned about Old Testament sacrifices, and see if you can connect them to Jesus’ sacrifice.

V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word journal. Or get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.​E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit, and there shall be a new creation, and you will renew the face of the earth. Amen +

NOTES AND REFERENCES“For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).

Fire in the OT:

Genesis 15:1-17 God calls Moses from the burning bush

Exodus 3:1-8 God leads from the pillar of cloud and fire

Exodus 12:8-10 God descends on Mt. Sinai in a fire

Exodus 13:17-21 God and Abraham make a covenant

Exodus 19:18-19 the Passover lamb must be roasted and eaten

Leviticus 9:22-24, And fire came forth from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar.

Leviticus 6:9-13 it is stressed three times that the altar fire, once lit, must burn continuously, because every sacrifice offered in the tabernacle from this time forward was to be incinerated in the fire that originated from God’s presence.

In early Judaism, criminals whose crimes were hanging offenses were said to be cursed by God (Deut. 21:22-23).

Luke 9:23-24, And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”

Peter 4:12-14, When you experience suffering voluntarily (like OT freewill offerings) “the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”1 Peter 1:6-7, Fire purifies metals of the impurities that make it weaker, less valuable, and less reliable.1 Peter 4:12, We suffer “fiery trials” to purify our faith.Sirach 2:1-6, “Fiery trials,” especially the sufferings and humiliations suffered by those who “serve the Lord,” can cleanse us from sin and passions and purify us of the inclination to sin.Exodus 34:14, It is the holy, jealous love of God, Himself, that purifies us.

“Either in this life or in the life to come, the soul that seeks union with God must be purged by ‘The fiery Love of God.’ The holy souls are purged of all the rust and stains of sin which they have not rid themselves in this life. The fire of purgatory is first of all The Fiery Love of God” (St. Catherine of Genoa).

1 Corinthians 3:9-17, For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw– each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

St. Faustina: “I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.”

Pope Benedict the XVI, teaching on the mystics, said that rather than a “place” in the depths of the earth with an exterior fire, they saw purgatory as an interior fire. They understood purgatory to be the soul’s experience and awareness of God’s immense love and perfect justice. The soul suffers for not having responded appropriately to the perfect love it “sees” and experiences. This suffering is just, and is the simple, natural consequence of habitual separation of one’s will from love. It is precisely the love of God Himself which purifies the soul from the ravages of sin (General Audience, 1.12.11).

“The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect*, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned… The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire.

“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come” (CCC 1030-1031).

Did Jesus himself ever teach about Purgatory? For many readers of the Bible—Catholic and otherwise—the answer to this question would be ‘No’. Many studies of Purgatory in the Bible focus on two key passages: Jewish prayers for the dead (2 Maccabees 12) and St. Paul’s teaching about “being saved through fire” (1 Corinthians 3).

In this exciting study, Dr. Brant Pitre looks at these passages but goes even further, using his knowledge of ancient Jewish tradition to shed light on several forgotten teachings of Jesus himself regarding the reality of Purgatory. In this study, you will learn the following:

• The Sermon on the Mount and “Getting out of Prison”: Did Jesus talk about Purgatory in a Jewish way, in his most famous sermon of all?

• The Fires of “Gehenna”: Is Gehenna always a reference to the place of the damned? Or did ancient Jews believe in a spiritual realm of temporary punishment by “fire”?

• The Parable of the Servant’s Debts: Where is the “prison” into which God will cast us if we fail to pay off our “debts”? Is Jesus talking about an earthly prison in this parable?

• The Parable of the Master and the Servants: What are the different punishments that the servants receive when the Master comes back?

• The Amazing Grace of Purgatory: How can the Catechism of the Catholic Church refer to Purgatory as a “grace”? What is the “double consequence” of sin, and how does it shed light on the logic of Purgatory?

If there is any doctrine of the Catholic Church about which both non-Catholics and Catholics seem to have doubts and misunderstandings, it is Purgatory. If you’ve ever wanted to learn what Jesus himself had to say about what will happen to those who die before “making amends” with their enemies; if you’ve ever wondered what will happen to those who “aren’t ready” for when they meet their Master; and if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Purgatory—without actually having to go there—then this is the Bible study for you.

Listen to audio below of Jesus & the Jewish Roots of Purgatory

Jesus and the End Times: A Catholic View of the Last Days ‐ MP3

Have you ever wondered what the Bible teaches about what will happen at the End of Time? Many Catholics have heard about “the Rapture,” the coming of the “Anti-christ,” and the Second Coming, but are unsure exactly what to believe about these topics. Moreover, while Protestant Christians are often well-versed in the study of the “end times,” Catholics are often unfamiliar with what the Bible actually teaches. Many Christians are unaware that the Catholic Church has very explicit teachings about the Tribulation, the Antichrist, the Second Coming, and the New Creation.

In this detailed Bible study on the end times, Dr. Pitre brings clarity and precision to the confusion that frequently surrounds the doctrine of the end times, by answering crucial questions such as:

• What is the meaning of Jesus’ prophecies of tribulation and the coming of the Son of Man? Are we in the “end times” now?• Why did Jesus prophesy the destruction of the Temple, and how does it relate to the End of the World?• Is the Protestant belief in a secret “Rapture” a biblical teaching or a false doctrine?• What will the Final Judgment be like, and how will we be judged?

If you’ve ever wondered about where this world is heading and what the ultimate destiny of humanity is, then you don’t want to miss this powerful study of the truth about what the Bible and the Catholic Church teach about the last days.

Have you ever wondered what happens when we die? Is there really life after death? And if so, what is it like? Do heaven and hell really exist, or are they just figments of Christian imagination? These are questions that are asked by every person at some point in their lives, even unbelievers and atheists. And in this one-of-a-kind Bible Study, Dr. Brant Pitre gives you the answers - straight from the Bible.

As Dr. Pitre will show, the full belief of the Catholic Church about Life after Death actually goes beyond the traditional “Four Last Things” - Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell - to include the mysteries of Purgatory, the Resurrection, and the New Creation. After listening to this Bible study, you will never see the final line of the Creed in the same way. If you’re going to die - like we all are - and you’ve ever wondered what’s next, then this Bible study is for you.

Many Christians have heard of St. John of the Cross’ famous book, The Dark Night of the Soul. But if you’ve ever picked it up and tried to actually read it, you may have found yourself confused. What exactly is the ‘dark night’ of the soul? How do you know if you’re going through the ‘dark night’ or not?In this exciting Bible study, Dr. Brant Pitre takes St. John of the Cross’ classic spiritual teaching on the dark night of the soul and unlocks its meaning by looking at what St. John himself considered the key to his mystical theology: Sacred Scripture. In this Bible study, you will learn about:

• The Dark Night of the Senses vs. the Dark Night of the Spirit• What Bible passages were used by St. John to explain the Dark Nights• Who experiences the Dark Nights and why God allows them• What to do when experiencing the Dark Nights• How the Dark Nights are a kind of Purgatory on Earth

If you’ve ever experienced difficulty and dryness in prayer, or if you’ve ever wanted to understand St. John of the Cross’ teaching from a biblical perspective, or if you just want to make progress in prayer and the spiritual life, then this Bible study on the Dark Night of the Soul is for you.